Thomas Spallek
@thomas-spallek.bsky.social
What makes a plant a good parasite? - This question followed me from RIKEN Yokohama to the Uni. of Hohenheim and the University of Goettingen, where my group studies parasitic plants using genetics, molecular biology and microscopy. Prev. on X as tomspalk
Reposted by Thomas Spallek
🌱 EXPERT VIEW 🌱
In all land plants, small secreted peptides belonging to the CLE family move from cell to cell and activate their cognate receptors to control a plethora of developmental processes - Cornelis & Hazak
🔗 doi.org/10.1093/jxb/...
#PlantScience 🧪 @hazaklab.bsky.social
In all land plants, small secreted peptides belonging to the CLE family move from cell to cell and activate their cognate receptors to control a plethora of developmental processes - Cornelis & Hazak
🔗 doi.org/10.1093/jxb/...
#PlantScience 🧪 @hazaklab.bsky.social
November 21, 2025 at 1:58 PM
🌱 EXPERT VIEW 🌱
In all land plants, small secreted peptides belonging to the CLE family move from cell to cell and activate their cognate receptors to control a plethora of developmental processes - Cornelis & Hazak
🔗 doi.org/10.1093/jxb/...
#PlantScience 🧪 @hazaklab.bsky.social
In all land plants, small secreted peptides belonging to the CLE family move from cell to cell and activate their cognate receptors to control a plethora of developmental processes - Cornelis & Hazak
🔗 doi.org/10.1093/jxb/...
#PlantScience 🧪 @hazaklab.bsky.social
Reposted by Thomas Spallek
Earlier on the expedition we found the most beautiful flower, and here, my friends, is the biggest: Rafflesia arnoldi seen in full bloom today in the Sumatran jungle. This is the largest flower on earth and one of the greatest wonders of the natural world.
November 20, 2025 at 9:40 AM
Earlier on the expedition we found the most beautiful flower, and here, my friends, is the biggest: Rafflesia arnoldi seen in full bloom today in the Sumatran jungle. This is the largest flower on earth and one of the greatest wonders of the natural world.
Reposted by Thomas Spallek
New Post: Haustorium 88 is now available for download on the IPPS website. www.parasiticplants.org/2025/11/haus...
November 6, 2025 at 4:07 PM
New Post: Haustorium 88 is now available for download on the IPPS website. www.parasiticplants.org/2025/11/haus...
Reposted by Thomas Spallek
Simon's mutant finally published! Well done, Satoko' lab with Harro, Tobimatsu, Tohge collaborations. Glucosylation of endogenous haustorium-inducing factors underpins kin avoidance in parasitic plants | Science www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Glucosylation of endogenous haustorium-inducing factors underpins kin avoidance in parasitic plants
Parasitic plants rarely attack themselves, suggesting the existence of a kin-avoidance mechanism. In the root parasitic plant Phtheirospermum japonicum, prehaustorium formation is triggered by host-se...
www.science.org
October 24, 2025 at 12:29 AM
Simon's mutant finally published! Well done, Satoko' lab with Harro, Tobimatsu, Tohge collaborations. Glucosylation of endogenous haustorium-inducing factors underpins kin avoidance in parasitic plants | Science www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Reposted by Thomas Spallek
We’re pleased to share the speakers for our November IPPS seminar: Guillaume Brun and Martina Leso
www.parasiticplants.org/2025/10/nove...
www.parasiticplants.org/2025/10/nove...
November IPPS Seminars by Guillaume Brun and Martina Leso - International Parasitic Plant Society
We are pleased to announce the speakers for our November IPPS seminars. First talk: Dr. Guillaume Brun from Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity, University of Münster, will talk about “Seed metab...
www.parasiticplants.org
October 22, 2025 at 2:55 PM
We’re pleased to share the speakers for our November IPPS seminar: Guillaume Brun and Martina Leso
www.parasiticplants.org/2025/10/nove...
www.parasiticplants.org/2025/10/nove...
Reposted by Thomas Spallek
Happy to announce the speakers of our October IPPS Online seminar: Guojing Shen and Laia Jené
www.parasiticplants.org/2025/09/ipps...
www.parasiticplants.org/2025/09/ipps...
IPPS Online Seminar on October 1st, 2025, by Guojing SHEN and Laia JENÉ - International Parasitic Plant Society
The IPPS October Seminar will again feature two talks: Guojing SHEN from the Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, will talk about: ‘Unraveling Cuscuta-host interactions: hormone/r...
www.parasiticplants.org
September 19, 2025 at 2:46 PM
Happy to announce the speakers of our October IPPS Online seminar: Guojing Shen and Laia Jené
www.parasiticplants.org/2025/09/ipps...
www.parasiticplants.org/2025/09/ipps...
🔎 INSIGHT 🔎
🌱 Secure but flexible: temporary adhesion in mistletoe seedlings - Ornelas & Morales-Saldaña
📝 Insight: doi.org/10.1093/jxb/...
🔬 Research: doi.org/10.1093/jxb/...
#PlantScience 🧪
🌱 Secure but flexible: temporary adhesion in mistletoe seedlings - Ornelas & Morales-Saldaña
📝 Insight: doi.org/10.1093/jxb/...
🔬 Research: doi.org/10.1093/jxb/...
#PlantScience 🧪
August 28, 2025 at 6:14 PM
Reposted by Thomas Spallek
Announcement of a chromosome-level assembly and annotation of #parasiticplant Cuscuta campestris
Horizontal Gene Transfer: Latest results from PubMed
Chromosome level assembly and annotation of Cuscuta campestris Yunck. ("field dodder"), a model parasitic plant
#NCBI #PubMed #HGT
Chromosome level assembly and annotation of Cuscuta campestris Yunck. ("field dodder"), a model parasitic plant
#NCBI #PubMed #HGT
Chromosome level assembly and annotation of Cuscuta campestris Yunck. ("field dodder"), a model parasitic plant - PubMed
We present the first chromosome-level genome assembly and annotation for the genus Cuscuta, a twining and leafless parasitic plant of the morning glory family (Convolvulaceae). C. campestris, the study species, is a widely studied model parasite, due in part to its worldwide occurrence as a weed of …
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
August 21, 2025 at 2:09 PM
Announcement of a chromosome-level assembly and annotation of #parasiticplant Cuscuta campestris
Reposted by Thomas Spallek
A close-up of the development of a parasitic endophyte by @l-teixeiracosta.bsky.social and colleagues. #parasiticplants
🎉 Great news! The paper ‘Plant life without leaves, roots or stems: anatomy, development and three-dimensional structure of the endoparasite Pilostyles blanchetii (Apodanthaceae) in Mimosa hosts’ in @annbot.bsky.social by G. Ceccantini and co-authors is now #free for 2 weeks 🧵(1/8)
👉 doi.org/p2bd
👉 doi.org/p2bd
August 21, 2025 at 2:16 PM
A close-up of the development of a parasitic endophyte by @l-teixeiracosta.bsky.social and colleagues. #parasiticplants
Reposted by Thomas Spallek
Check out this new story from the Felix lab, with some contribution from us:
Receptor antagonist prevents hyperactivation of the plant immune system
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Receptor antagonist prevents hyperactivation of the plant immune system
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
A receptor antagonist counterbalances multiple systemin phytocytokines in tomato
Tight regulation of immune activation is crucial for plant health. How plants control the actions of their immunostimulatory phytocytokines is largely…
www.sciencedirect.com
August 21, 2025 at 3:32 PM
Check out this new story from the Felix lab, with some contribution from us:
Receptor antagonist prevents hyperactivation of the plant immune system
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Receptor antagonist prevents hyperactivation of the plant immune system
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Fantastic news! I hope Amal will return to parasitic plants one day.
We are excited to welcome Amal Boukteb @AmalBk11 to our team. Amal was previously at INRAT 🇹🇳, where she worked on parasitic plants.
She is one of the pioneers of Tunis R-Users Group @RLadiesTunis You can listen to her seminar by following link below.
kamounlab.tumblr.com/post/7867121...
She is one of the pioneers of Tunis R-Users Group @RLadiesTunis You can listen to her seminar by following link below.
kamounlab.tumblr.com/post/7867121...
Kamoun Lab @ TSL
We are excited to welcome Amal Boukteb to our team. Amal was previously based at INRAT (Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique de Tunisie), where she worked on parasitic plants.
She is also one...
kamounlab.tumblr.com
June 18, 2025 at 5:56 PM
Fantastic news! I hope Amal will return to parasitic plants one day.
Since the parasitic processes in Cuscuta are closely linked to their cell wall structures and functions, M. Takagawa and R. Yokoyama have put together current knowledge in a review, you can read #OpenAccess in the Journal #PlantBiology @Wileyplantsci #PlantSci DOI: doi.org/10.1111/plb....
Current understanding of the role of the cell wall in Cuscuta parasitism
We comprehensively summarise the roles of plant cell wall in key processes of parasitism by the obligate stem parasite Cuscuta.
doi.org
June 5, 2025 at 6:13 PM
Drawing your attention to this wonderful resource from the IPPS – the Haustorium Newsletter edited by Chris Parker – now in its 87th edition. Chris, who is a few years older than the number of this issue, reviewed recent publications on parasitic plants and commented briefly on most of them (>200).
Here is a snippet from the latest Haustorium Newsletter - the biannual newsletter on parasitic plants curated by Chris Parker. Follow the link to the IPPS webpage to download the latest issue.
www.parasiticplants.org/2025/05/from...
www.parasiticplants.org/2025/05/from...
From Haustorium 87: Lost for 85 years: Sapria himalayana rediscovered in Arunachal’s Eaglenest Sanctuary - International Parasitic Plant Society
Last recorded in 1938 near Rupa in the Aka Hills, Arunachal Pradesh, Sapria himalayana has remained one of the most elusive members of the Rafflesiaceae family. Sapria himalayana, the cousin of the wo...
www.parasiticplants.org
May 28, 2025 at 2:10 PM
Drawing your attention to this wonderful resource from the IPPS – the Haustorium Newsletter edited by Chris Parker – now in its 87th edition. Chris, who is a few years older than the number of this issue, reviewed recent publications on parasitic plants and commented briefly on most of them (>200).
Reposted by Thomas Spallek
What's going on in fungi?? Chromosomes are distributed across several different nuclei in Sclerotinia sclerotiorum and Botrytis cinerea
Article in @science.org here: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
And Perspective here: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Article in @science.org here: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
And Perspective here: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Distribution of haploid chromosomes into separate nuclei in two pathogenic fungi
Nuclei define eukaryotes, enabling macromolecular compartmentalization and cellular regulation. Each nucleus is believed to contain one or more haploid sets of chromosomes (1N). However, we discovered...
www.science.org
May 16, 2025 at 9:43 AM
What's going on in fungi?? Chromosomes are distributed across several different nuclei in Sclerotinia sclerotiorum and Botrytis cinerea
Article in @science.org here: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
And Perspective here: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Article in @science.org here: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
And Perspective here: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Reposted by Thomas Spallek
Save the date - the WCPP is coming to Brazil in June 2026!
www.parasiticplants.org/2025/04/18th...
www.parasiticplants.org/2025/04/18th...
18th World Congress on Parasitic Plants - June 2026 - International Parasitic Plant Society
We are excited to share that the 18th World Congress on Parasitic Plants will be held at the Instituto Bahia dos Vermelhos in Ilhabela, Brazil, from June 14 to June 20, 2026. Join us for a week of pre...
www.parasiticplants.org
April 9, 2025 at 8:03 AM
Save the date - the WCPP is coming to Brazil in June 2026!
www.parasiticplants.org/2025/04/18th...
www.parasiticplants.org/2025/04/18th...
„Für die einen sind sie Lebensraum, für die anderen der Tod“ – Misteln in der Zeit: www.zeit.de/wissen/2025-...
Misteln: Warum Misteln zum Problem werden
Wenn gerade in den Bäumen grüne Bälle hängen, ist das kein gutes Zeichen: Misteln sind Parasiten. Warum sie sich stark verbreiten und welches Kulturgut nun gefährdet ist.
www.zeit.de
April 2, 2025 at 4:10 PM
„Für die einen sind sie Lebensraum, für die anderen der Tod“ – Misteln in der Zeit: www.zeit.de/wissen/2025-...
Reposted by Thomas Spallek
Now receiving submissions for our special issue:
'The Biology of Parasitic Plants - Mechanisms, Diversity & Evolution'
Organising Editors:
A. Okazawa @okazawaa.bsky.social
T. Spallek @thomas-spallek.bsky.social
K. Yoneyama
S. Yoshida
Interested? Contact Us 💻
academic.oup.com/pcp/pages/sp...
'The Biology of Parasitic Plants - Mechanisms, Diversity & Evolution'
Organising Editors:
A. Okazawa @okazawaa.bsky.social
T. Spallek @thomas-spallek.bsky.social
K. Yoneyama
S. Yoshida
Interested? Contact Us 💻
academic.oup.com/pcp/pages/sp...
March 28, 2025 at 2:10 PM
Now receiving submissions for our special issue:
'The Biology of Parasitic Plants - Mechanisms, Diversity & Evolution'
Organising Editors:
A. Okazawa @okazawaa.bsky.social
T. Spallek @thomas-spallek.bsky.social
K. Yoneyama
S. Yoshida
Interested? Contact Us 💻
academic.oup.com/pcp/pages/sp...
'The Biology of Parasitic Plants - Mechanisms, Diversity & Evolution'
Organising Editors:
A. Okazawa @okazawaa.bsky.social
T. Spallek @thomas-spallek.bsky.social
K. Yoneyama
S. Yoshida
Interested? Contact Us 💻
academic.oup.com/pcp/pages/sp...
Please check out our Commentary on the recent PNAS paper from the @charlesmelnyk.bsky.social lab about systemic signals in Phtheirospermum japonicum:
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
PNAS
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), a peer reviewed journal of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) - an authoritative source of high-impact, original research that broadly spans...
www.pnas.org
March 18, 2025 at 6:15 PM
Please check out our Commentary on the recent PNAS paper from the @charlesmelnyk.bsky.social lab about systemic signals in Phtheirospermum japonicum:
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Reposted by Thomas Spallek
Get ready for some festive parasites! On April 2nd at 1 GMT, our IPPS online seminars are all about mistletoes - one of nature's most iconic parasitic plants. Follow the link to find out more: www.parasiticplants.org/2025/03/ipps...
IPPS Online Seminar on April 2nd, 2025, by Francisco Fontúrbel and Yun-Bing Zhang - International Parasitic Plant Society
First talk: Dr. Francisco Fontúrbel from the Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Valparaiso in Chile will talk about: “Mistletoe-driven facilitation at the limit of life in Patagonia” Second talk: Dr. ...
www.parasiticplants.org
March 17, 2025 at 1:28 PM
Get ready for some festive parasites! On April 2nd at 1 GMT, our IPPS online seminars are all about mistletoes - one of nature's most iconic parasitic plants. Follow the link to find out more: www.parasiticplants.org/2025/03/ipps...
Reposted by Thomas Spallek
New publication: The role of #strigolactone structural diversity in the host specificity and control of #Striga, a major constraint to sub-Saharan #agriculture. #microbiome #fungi #parasiticplants #sorghum #sulfotransferase
https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp3.10549
https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp3.10549
December 2, 2024 at 9:58 PM
New publication: The role of #strigolactone structural diversity in the host specificity and control of #Striga, a major constraint to sub-Saharan #agriculture. #microbiome #fungi #parasiticplants #sorghum #sulfotransferase
https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp3.10549
https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp3.10549
Reposted by Thomas Spallek
Happening tomorrow - see you at 1 pm GMT
For our March IPPS seminar, we will have two speakers studying broomrapes in the Mediterranean: Begoña Pérez Vich from Spain and Amal Boukteb from Tunisia: www.parasiticplants.org/2025/02/marc...
March IPPS Seminars by Begoña Pérez Vich and Amal Boukteb - International Parasitic Plant Society
First talk: Dr. Begoña Pérez Vich from Spanish National Scientific Research Council will talk about “Genetics of the sunflower – Orobanche cumana parasitic interaction” Second talk: Amal Boukteb, PhD ...
www.parasiticplants.org
March 4, 2025 at 8:21 PM
Happening tomorrow - see you at 1 pm GMT
Reposted by Thomas Spallek
24 years (+) of IPPS history on:
www.parasiticplants.org/2025/02/upda...
www.parasiticplants.org/2025/02/upda...
Update of the IPPS history page - International Parasitic Plant Society
Thanks to requests from our community after Jim Westwood’s IPPS in January, Jim generously offered to share his incredible collection of past WCPP conference posters, meeting photos, and some fascinat...
www.parasiticplants.org
February 25, 2025 at 2:10 PM
24 years (+) of IPPS history on:
www.parasiticplants.org/2025/02/upda...
www.parasiticplants.org/2025/02/upda...
Botany valentine. Another from years past. New one on Monday!
February 7, 2025 at 6:21 PM
Reposted by Thomas Spallek
Thank you for the exciting IPPS seminars by Salma Shahid @psaima.bsky.social and Jiacheng Ji
www.parasiticplants.org/2025/02/febr...
www.parasiticplants.org/2025/02/febr...
February IPPS Seminars by Salma Shahid and Jiacheng Ji - International Parasitic Plant Society
The second IPPS online meeting in 2025 featured two excellent presentations on two different parasitic plants. Salma Shahid talked about the fascinating interplay between miRNAs and DNA methylation in...
www.parasiticplants.org
February 5, 2025 at 3:14 PM
Thank you for the exciting IPPS seminars by Salma Shahid @psaima.bsky.social and Jiacheng Ji
www.parasiticplants.org/2025/02/febr...
www.parasiticplants.org/2025/02/febr...
An amazing #ParasiticPlants - basically a parasitic flower with the host providing all the other plant organs
One of the most spectacular flowers I ever saw was gigantic Rafflesia banaoana, spanning a half-metre. Seen by just a handful of people, it grows only in an inaccessible forest in the Philippines, reached with the help of a tribe, the Banao Indigenous Community. Seeing it in 2022 was life-changing.
February 1, 2025 at 11:39 AM
An amazing #ParasiticPlants - basically a parasitic flower with the host providing all the other plant organs